Puasa @ Work

Its the 1st day of puasa at work. And I had to attend a meeting this morning, Deans Council Meeting. Its one of those "hyper-boring sampai nak muntah" meeting which can last up to 4-5 hours. Luckily I didn't puke! But I managed to doze off for a couple of nano-seconds (or so I thought!). The handwriting in my minutes book however, seem to indicate that it was more than just a couple of nano-seconds. Hopefully the Chairman did not catch me dozing off but I doubted it as he was the closest person to me and had asked me to repeat the decisions at the end of the meeting (kantoi giler!).

Also my boss, my "beloved" boss took leave today. So I will be rather free to decide on my own destiny for the rest of the day!!! In any case, I hope this day will end soon. Can't wait for buka puasa.... ;)

Ramadhan is Coming!

Today, Friday 22 September 2006 or 29 Syaaban 1427, all the astrologers (ahli falak) will be busy at their respective points throughout Malaysia to try to catch a glimpse of the son of the moon ("anak bulan") and determine whether the millions of Muslims in Malaysia will start fasting.

And during tonight's news, the Penyimpan Mohor Besar Raja-Raja (a person who to this day has outlasted almost everyone in Malaysia in his unenviable position and whom I always look forward to see on TV when I was small!! still do too!!) will make an announcement as to when Puasa will start. Well, as far as I know it is an open secret that Puasa has been determined to start on 24th Sept using the rukyah method (whatever that is! sounds like rocket science to me!). They always give a one day grace period for people to start buying their kurma & prepare for buka puasa!

Friends have also started forwarding via email catalogues and brochures for kuih raya for the past couple of days. I even got a Concorde Hotel Ramadhan buffet flyer stuck to my wiper yesterday! Car companies have also started to promote their cars for Balik Raya campaign (so that people can balik kampung with their shiny new car)....And certain supermarkets have started airing Lagu Raya! Talk about advanced marketing...

I even had friends who had shopped for their baju raya 2 months ago!!! Well, can't blame them as even the tailors have stopped taking orders! For me, who has not bought anything for my baju raya, I suppose I will have to either buy a ready-made one or wear last year's baju raya...hahaha.

Everything is so commercialised now! Its now all about fufilment of material and worldly satisfaction.... buka puasa, baju raya, kuih raya, langsir raya, perabot raya, kereta raya, hari raya, konsert raya, jualan hari raya, kad raya, lebuh raya (nak balik kampung!) and all things raya...

Lets not get carried away folks! No doubt those things will be there. But lets not forget the true meaning of Ramadhan. It is a spiritual journey..... It is meant for serious self-reflections of our past deeds and for us to seek forgiveness from our Creator for our misdeeds & foolishness. Its a time for us to get closer to our Creator and speak to Him. It is a time to test our patience and emphatise for the less fortunate. Its about curbing our excesses, being moderate & humble human being. It's also a good time to rest our stomach as most illnesses originates from the stomach. At the end of this trial period, we are expected to have "cleansed" our soul and emerged refreshed and pure. Thats why we celebrate Eidul Fitri (Fitrah being root word, meaning pure).

So lets be moderate in our eating, spending, shopping and whatever we do so that we can reap the rewards of this blessed month. That also means I have to stop back-biting about my boss... Darn!.....

To my dear family & friends...Selamat Menyambut Ramadhan... Ramadhan Mubarak....Lets begin the journey of Ramadhan with the right intentions!

Word for The Day: Condescending

con·de·scend·ing (knd-sndng) adj. - Displaying a patronizingly superior attitude

Adj.

1.

condescending - (used of behavior or attitude) characteristic of those who treat others with condescension patronising, patronizing, arch superior - of or characteristic of high rank or importance; "a superior officer"

Related words:
arrogant, belittling, big, contemptuous, disdainful, domineering, haughty, high-faluting, high-flown, high-handed, high-hat, high-headed, high-nosed, hoity-toity, imperious, lofty, overbearing, patronizing, pompous, priggish, proud, purse-proud, sniffy, snippy, snobbish, snobby, snooty, snotty, stuck-up, superior, toplofty, uppish, uppity, upstage

Antonyms:
approachable, friendly, humble....

An interesting link: http://www.powerfreaks.com/powerfreaks/google.html

What a Hectic Weekend!!!

Thank Goodness its Monday! hahaha... I didnt expect myself to say that, but I am glad the weekend is over and it is Monday, the start of new week, a fresh beginning. Why? Well.... Last weekend was very very hectic.

I was hardly at home last weekend. Been busy with discussions, classes and burning the midnight oil to complete my group assignment & presentation. Then I had 3 consecutive classes starting from Saturday afternoon, followed by the 2nd class on Sunday morning and the 3rd class at 2pm. By 6.45pm Sunday, the longest series of weekend classes I ever had was all over. Thank God!! And my endless gratitude to my dearest wife for understanding.... My kids did not get the attention of their father for the past 2 days. :-( Fortunately for them, their atuk & nenek's house is just next-door, who were more than happy to entertain their antics.

Luckily, I was not involved in the convocation this year. Phew!! Otherwise, I would have had a nervous breakdown managing between the three things. My office mates & my staff have been busy working on the preparations for the last couple of months. I am sure this year would be fine if not better considering that they used the same big venue and the same set of committee members.

And then there was the Arsenal vs Man U game last night... The Grand Slam Weekend they call is as there was another big game involving Chelsea vs Liverpool which ended in the Blues winning by 1-0, thanks to a sublime strike from Drogba (that guy looks as strong as a Mongolian ox!). I was relieved that Arsenal finally won their first League game. This season has seen the worst of starts for the Gunners. But they proved that they still have it in them, even without certain key players. I hope they continue playing like this and with more conviction in their style of play.

What an eventful week and weekend it has been!! And to to top it off, I was called for an interview last week, the first since I actively started floating my shares in the job market. It was indeed a pleasant surprise as I had not expected such a quick call-up by this corporation which is known to have a lengthy recruitment process. Well, it doesn't matter. Finally, my prayers are answered. I need to start doing my preparations as it has been 2 years since I last went for an interview. I hope to do well in the interviews. My family will depend on it. I hope this will be the turning point of my career. InsyaAllah....